31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes
“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
Day 5: Other
Time spent visiting my mom is always special and leaving is always hard. Being the procrastinator that I am, it’s easy to stretch out the packing and loading up process. Eventually though, the good-bye must happen. Words are shared, hugs given, and tears shed. Then, I wait for mom’s message of caution: “be careful,” “keep me posted along the way,” and “look out for the other guy.”
That last one seems more important today than ever, as it appears there are more cars and less common sense on the road. Mom is reminding me to be attentive to those who go roaring past while encroaching the middle line, the ones cutting in front of me with no warning into what they think is space left open just for them, those who ride my bumper hoping I’ll change speeds, and yes, the oblivious who putt-putt along in the fast lane, going anything but fast and slowing up progress along the way. “Look out for the other guy” is a warning given out of love, meant to help me make it safely home.
Do you know that the Bible offers us the same message of caution? It also reminds us, to be careful and look out for the other guy.
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)
The “other guy” we need to look out for as we travel on the road of life is Satan. He races to catch up with us and then proceeds to try and inch over as close as he can get without us moving away. He’s also known to perceive an opening, a space we don’t think is a problem, and without warning he’ll slide right in. The devil is a master at pushing us to go faster and further than we want to or to block our way keeping us from where we want to go. “Look out for the other guy!”
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I heed this warning and sometimes I’m not as careful as I should be. I might convince myself that even though he’s getting closer to me than I’d like, I’ve got a grip on the situation. Or, I realize that I’ve made space for fear, worry, self-centeredness, envy, or a varied plethora of things and don’t think about the fact that those are just the spaces that welcome the “other guy” to slide right in. There are situations we know we should steer clear of but we feel him pushing us along. We’ve all know times when we see where we should go, but Satan slows us down, blocks our way, keeps us from completing the journey we were to take. “Look out for the other guy!”
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11 (NLT)
How are we traveling? Are we being careful, checking in with the Lord along the way, and remembering to look out for the other guy? We should be. After all, the messages of caution offered through God’s Word are given out of love and meant to help each of us make it all the way Home.
